O T Protein in Urine | Arthritis Information

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Hi everyone, my daughter (33yrs old) went to the Dr. today with classic UTI symptoms but was told no sign of that, but the protein level in her urine was "out the roof", so is sending her to Gyno. next  Wed. after a 24 hr urine fast. I read where this could be a sign of diabetes or  other serious  kidney probs. I've never heard of. Does anyone know anything about this? We are so worried and my daughter is really scared. Her white cell count was normal  but I don"t know what the protein number is. This pain and pressure in her lower stomach has been going on for three weeks but she didn't want to worry me with my sister being in the hospital, so she didn"t tell me. Any ideas?   Thanks,......Genesis- The earliest sign of diabetic kidney disease is when small amounts of
protein are excreted into the urine, sometimes referred to as "spilling
protein". This condition is known as "microalbuminuria". As diabetes
progresses, the small blood vessels in the kidneys become injured and the
kidneys cannot clean your blood properly and wastes begin to build up. Over
time, the damaged kidney blood vessels and filters begin to leak useful
protein into the urine. Normally, this protein would be reabsorbed by the
body.

genesis, is your daughter pregnant? This can happen during pregnancy
also.

Genesis,

What does the test result mean?
NOTE: A standard reference range is not available for this test. Because reference values are dependent on many factors, including patient age, gender, sample population, and test method, numeric test results have different meanings in different labs. Your lab report should include the specific reference range for your test. Lab Tests Online strongly recommends that you discuss your test results with your doctor. For more information on reference ranges, please read Reference Ranges and What They Mean.

Protein in the urine is a warning sign. It may indicate kidney damage or disease or be a transient elevation due to an infection, medication, vigorous exercise, or emotional or physical stress. In some people, it may be present during the day and absent at night when the patient is lying down (orthostatic proteinuria). In pregnant women, elevated urine protein levels can be associated with pre-eclampsia.

When kidney damage is present, the amount of protein present is generally associated with the severity of damage, and increasing amounts of protein over time indicate increasing damage and decreasing kidney function. Proteinuria is associated with many diseases and conditions, including:

  • Amyloidosis
  • Bladder cancer
  • Congestive heart failure
  • Diabetes
  • Drug therapies that are potentially toxic to the kidneys
  • Glomerulonephritis
  • Goodpasture’s syndrome
  • Heavy metal poisoning
  • Hypertension
  • Kidney infection
  • Multiple myeloma
  • Polycystic kidney disease
  • Systemic lupus erythematosus
  • Urinary tract infection
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    Is there anything else I should know?
    The different methods of detecting protein in the urine vary in performance. For example, a positive dipstick protein may be elevated due to other sources of protein, such as blood, semen, or vaginal secretions in the urine. Since it measures primarily albumin, the dipstick occasionally may be normal when significant quantities of other proteins are present in the urine. A 24-hour urine sample gives the protein excretion rate over 24 hours. It will be accurate only if all of the urine is collected. The protein to creatinine ratio is more of a snapshot of how much protein is in the urine at the time the sample is collected. If it is elevated, then protein is present; if it is negative, it is possible that the patient was just not excreting measurable amounts of protein at that time.

    May be something simple like infection or stress or bad things, let's hope for the best. This link will give some explanation along with some worry.

    http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/urine_p rotein/test.html

    LEV

    levlarry39220.8554398148

    Hi Lorster and Levlarry, thanks for the quick replies, I was hoping you two would be on line, you are both so knowlegeable about health and med. Leah is positive Not preg, overweight, and very stressed over job changing. Blood pressure  was110/80 , a bit of swelling in lower limbs but could be from sitting at work and at home. Dr. didn't order blood work but I assume the Gyno. will do that, he also did an enternal exam and said her uereta tube? or something there was made different and he couldn't do a thourough exam and said she needed longer instrument he  didn't have, Does this make sense? Diabetes does run pretty rampant in my family,(3 sisters) so far.Would there be an infection if her white blood count was normal? Can you tell that just from urine and not a blood test? I obviously am pretty confused.......Gen

    Genesis,

    Sorry but i can't help with any more info. It's a shame that doctors tell us could be bad and then have to wait to find out, kinda like having to wait all day for dad to get home after mom said just wait till your dad gets home. Scared all day and then dad says, "don't do that anymore." The good thing is that it is not absolutely a real bad thing, could just be stress. We will hope for the best.

    LEV

    To check her kidney function, they will want to do a BUN, and Creatinine
    which will determine the glomerular filtration rate. They will also
    probably do a 24 hour urine test. That will give them the best picture of
    kidney function. I'm just not sure why they have referred her to a gyno?
    That does not make sense to me. If she is overweight, she may have
    diabetes, and they can check that with a glycosolated hemoglobin which
    will give them an idea of how her blood sugars have been controlled over
    the past three months. The swollen legs can be from decreased albumin
    levels in the blood because of chronic health problems. She must lose
    the weight, that is the only way she will avoid diabetes problems. That is
    the only treatment for type 2 diabetes. her BP is good. I have been doing
    much research on obesity and inflammation. Diabetes is an auto immune
    disease. I hope she gets some answers. This is very worrysome for you.
    You already have a lot on your plate. Good luck and keep me posted.Thanks Guys , I will keep posted and she is to do the 24hr urine test Mon. I would think they would send her to a Uralogist (sp) don't you? The Dr. did say she may have an endometrial infection, hence the Gyno. I guess..... GenThey will most likely send her to a nephrologist. Genesis, I did some posts a
    while back on some things i learned about kidney disease. I will look back
    and repost.Posted: 23 April 2007 at 7:12pm | IP Logged     
    Well, I had a bit of a scare last week with my lab work showing renal
    failure. I did a lot of reading on this subject and learned some things and
    want to share with you so that we can all avoid any problems. First of all,
    kidneys are an organ in our bodies that once destroyed, cannot be fixed.
    Another thing, once kidney function is reduced to a point that it starts
    showing up in our lab work, the damage is done, irreversable and if
    enough nephrons are destoyed, it tends to continue until the person
    enters complete renal failure and dialysis or transplantation is required to
    sustain life. Once dialysis starts, the person can live for only several
    years unless they receive transplantation. When we have autoimmune
    disease, we can potentially have damaged kidneys, either from the
    disease, or from the treatments we receive. The use of NSAIDS and
    narcotics can damage our kidneys but we need to be on these to maintain
    our quality of life so there are some other measures we can take to make
    sure our kidneys last. One is, never become dehydrated, as it takes a toll
    on kidney function and is probably why it showed up in my labs. I'm
    terrible at drinking but will from now on. Another thing we can do is take
    antioxicants like vit c, b and e and fish oil, or omega supplements to
    help detoxify our kidneys. And most importantly, get the weight off,
    especially if you have trunkal obesity, eat a good diet, control diabetes
    and hypertension as these two diseases are the leading cause of kidney
    disease/failure. Also, I learned that once kidney disease sets in, it
    directly affects the health of the heart and causes a huge increase in heart
    disease and failure. This has been a wake up call for me so from now on,
    I will do things different and take better care of myself and this monster
    that lives in me. I hope some of this info will help some of you. Wow Lorster that is so scary, Leah has never done illegal drugs and very few Rx ones, she has always had an acid stomach and has taken prilosec for years and antacids by the gobs before that.Tests show no ulsers,just acid. She's been amazingly healthy considering her weight and it is mostly around the stomach area. Whew!!! I don't know if I can wait til next Wed for that gyno appt.  Thanks for your help....GenI hope everything turns out ok. Please let us know how things go at the OB. I also hope everything turns out ok.  Please let us know what they say.  Genesis. This may very well be something else going on but when they find
    protein spilling, the start really looking at kidney function. I hope it is
    somehting acute that is treatable. she has her young age on her side though
    so the doctors will give her good advice as to what she needs to do. Keep
    us posted. I hope Wednesday gets here quick for your family.

                      Thanks you guys, I'll let you all know something soon as we find out......Gen 

    Has she been eating? Sometimes not eating or vomitting will cause protein in the urine. Also atkins diet can cause it. When I was pregnant and vomitting every day I had it...Yes Karin she's been eating and told me today she had been drinking lots of sodas, and almost no water!  No more as of now!!! Also the pain was almost gone this morning after being constant for 3 wks.... GO FIGURE!!   Thanks.....Gen Is it possible to drink too much water?  I drink way more than the 8 glasses they recommend per day.  I drink so much water my urine is always clear.        Yes Gramma it is possible to drink too much water and can have some serious consequences. I told Leah to just drink normally with meals and sip throughout the day. A lady drank so much water on a radio station based contest that she went home and died!! All for a Ninetendo for her son for Christmas. How sad! I don't think she went to the bathroom for several hrs or something like that, it was all over the news at Christmas. You may want to slack off  a little unless you sweat excessively or exercise a lot. Good Luck... Gen
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